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Show This Week! h Arthur Brisbane The Roosevelt Plan 48 Opinions, No Opinion Reflation, Not Inflation Insurance Co. Money Franklin D. Roosevelt has one plan already announced. At government expense the Tennessee valley would be made over, reforestation in the highlands, flood control basins, huge water power development, reclamation of flooded bottom lands, elimination of uuprofitable marginal lands from farm pursuit, back to the farm movement, Improved navigation. The success of this plan would be followed by similar plans in Ohio and elsewhere. If the Tennessee plan, which could hardly get started for a year, worked rapidly and well, it would employ 50,000 to 75,000 people. That would not make a big hole In the twelve millions of unemployed. Some idea bigger than an engineering plan to hire a few thousands or hundreds of thousands, and put out a few more hundreds of million's of public money, is called for in this situation. That there is any brain big enough to formulate the idea is doubtful. It must come of itself and possibly in some unpleasant way, after unpleasant experience. Every "plan" Involves more money to be shovelled out from public funds. And the government itself, in the firsi seven months of this fiscal year, finds itself with a deficit of one thousand two hundred and seventy-one million dollars. It is a rich country, with credit strong as ever. But already Mr. Ralney of Illinois, a conservative by choice, says that, inflation must come. We need a new idea, a big one. and courage cour-age to adopt it even if unpleasant. Two days after his inauguration. President Roosevelt will have a meeting meet-ing of Governors of all the States, in the White House, to discuss "what to do?" To let the Governors come in, express ex-press their opinions, get acqquainted with the President and each other, Is a good idea. But forty-eight opinions would mean no opinion. If anything is to be done, it must be done by one ! man with the right idea and the power , to make others accept it. I You can't run a newspaper with an j editorial conference, or run a govern- I ment with a conference of Governors There is no substitute for ideas and will power, in the individual. Political talk and prophecy deals largely with inflation. You hear solemn men saying, as does Mr. Rainey of Illinois, "inflation of some kind seems inevitable." j "Inflation" in the usual sense of the word, blowing up and inflating" one dollar until it becomes ten or a thousand dollars is not inevitable, and would be stupid folly. I To say we must not discuss "any money not protected by a gold base' 13 foolish, if you take "gold base" literally. There are now outstanding more than twenty thousand million dollars worth of United States government bonds, printed on beautiful yellow paper, all "payable in gold." And there does not exist in all the world twenty thousand million dollars worth of gold. Our savings bank depositors are entitled en-titled to payment of their deposits In gold and in the whole world there Isn't one-quarter enough gold to pay the savings bank depositors. Not gold, but sound credit, Is the foundation of value. The Georgia Real Estate Loan Association, Asso-ciation, Including fifteen of the largest life insurance companies doing business busi-ness in Georgia, has declared a moratorium mora-torium on all Georgia farm mortgages, unless the farmer has abandoned his farm. A generous spirit of co-operation and great good will has been Bhown by the life insurance companies. And those Inclined to approve thoughtlessly any mortgage repudiation should remember re-member that the money In those farm mortgages, like other mortgages, does not belong to life Insurance officials, it belongs to policyholders and represents repre-sents protection, for widows and children. Their only protection. That aspect of the situation should not be overlookei. Il-nry Ford predict; an era of prosperity pros-perity In which nionej will be of little consequence, simply used "as postage stamps an- used, to move things." Mr. Ford's reply lo the technocracy nonsense 1;; brief : "It Is silly to ;gr-:st. that man can bo d'iiniji:it':l by I lie machine which he ci eat .- ;ind irit rols." Hut man has tem dominated too naicli by money. The intelligence of the country ha", been centeied on get ting moic n.'id more of money that me ans nothing, Je. -gh (.1 lug the real problem, which is lo produce and distribute dis-tribute things that the people need. Scientist!! havo described variously the difference between a human being and an animal. One saya the human being In the miily animal that laughs. Another pays f.hut man In the only animal that iblnkH. i It might be more accurate to Bay j that man In Hie only animal unable to ;nlnd IU own butdni-KH. j fj. 1933, Ly King P..IUI. Synilu.t., 1a.) I |